Rome Explained

Giambattista Nolli's 1748 map of Rome was remarkably accurate and was used by the Italian government until the 1970s as a basis for city planning. The city is divided into three main sections: the ancient part with sites like the Roman Forum and Colosseum; the Renaissance and Baroque section with famous buildings and piazzas such as Vatican City; and Trastevere, with Renaissance palaces and villas. The focus is on how Renaissance and Baroque artists and architects transformed public spaces into tourist and artistic hubs, influencing Western culture. Pope Sixtus V played a significant role in modernizing Rome with infrastructure projects, such as restoring aqueducts and building roads and bridges, which led to the creation of new fountains and the draining of marshes.

Pope Sixtus V's urban planning efforts aimed to connect key points in Rome, opening wide streets to link the seven pilgrimage churches and improve circulation. He also introduced fake facades to define street edges and encourage growth in uninhabited districts. The plan included the establishment of major axes, such as the one from Piazza del Popolo to the Pope's Summer Palace, and the Trident, three roads originating from Piazza del Popolo. To ensure continuity of his plan, Sixtus placed obelisks at strategic points, which later popes added to, creating visual endpoints for each street. This urban design approach provided direction and understanding of the city's layout, even as Rome urbanized.

The Capitoline, the central hill of Rome, was transformed by Michelangelo into a monumental square with the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at its center. The design, featuring an oval and star-shaped pattern, created a trapezoid space that accentuated the importance of the Palazzo del Senatore. The Capitoline serves as a physical and conceptual divide between the Renaissance Vatican and classical pagan Rome. The urban plan by Sixtus intersected at Le Quattro Fontane, marked by fountains and a church by architect Francesco Borromini. The plan also included obelisks and streets that formed a cross with the Colosseum at its center, influencing later designs like Bernini's ovalized courtyard in the Vatican.

Rome is known for its abundance of fountains, the most famous being the Trevi Fountain, which combines architecture with nature through its rustication technique. The design of St. Peter's Square by Bernini includes a vast forecourt and semi-circular colonnades, incorporating an existing obelisk and fountains. The plan of Rome, influenced by Sixtus V, has been replicated in other cities like Paris. The Spanish Steps, built later, serve as a unique urban staircase that becomes a spatial and visual center, redirecting views to other parts of the city and offering a different perspective of Rome's domes. Piazza Navona follows the layout of a Roman circus and was reorganized by Bernini in the 17th century, featuring oblique perspectives and richly modeled fountains.